Re: ASAers attending IU Evolution mtgs?

From: Howard J. Van Till (hvantill@novagate.com)
Date: Mon Jun 12 2000 - 19:49:10 EDT

  • Next message: Joel Duff: "Re: ASAers attending IU Evolution mtgs?"

    Doug,

    Welcome aboard. Your knowledge of evolutionary biology and your
    participation in that arena of research will be a valuable asset to this
    listserve.

    Howard Van Till

    ----------
    >From: Doug Hayworth <hayworth@uic.edu>
    >To: asa@calvin.edu
    >Subject: ASAers attending IU Evolution mtgs?
    >Date: Mon, Jun 12, 2000, 5:50 PM
    >

    > Will anyone from ASA (or any reader of this listserv) be attending the
    > Evolution meetings in Bloomington Indiana June 22-25? I'd enjoy meeting
    > you if you are. I'm giving a talk and a poster.
    >
    > ----
    >
    > As long as I'm posting this query, and it is my first post to the listserv,
    > I might as well introduce myself. I will likely be contributing more in
    > the future, though I am not likely to be as prolific as some of you.
    >
    > A couple of weeks ago, I successfully defended my dissertation and
    > completed my Ph.D. in evolutionary and population biology from Washington
    > University in St. Louis. My research centered on molecular evolution of
    > ribosomal DNA within and among related species of the plant genus
    > _Arabidopsis_ (one species of this plant genus, _A. thaliana_, is the model
    > organism in plant genetics, analogous to fruitflies). For those that
    > aren't familiar molecular biology, ribosomal DNA (rDNA) is the term given
    > to the DNA that encodes the hundreds of tandemly repeated copies of the
    > ribosomal RNA genes. Ribosomal RNAs form the main component of ribosomes,
    > which are responsible for all translation of proteins. Concerted evolution
    > refers to a specific pattern of sequence variation among the hundreds of
    > repeated rRNA genes when measured within and among species. If people are
    > interested, perhaps I'll post a simple review of this interesting topic at
    > some later date.
    >
    > I've been a practicing Christian as long as I can remember. I was raised
    > on the mission field (Iran from 1972-1979) and in Brookfield, Wisconsin
    > where my father is a mission pastor for a large church. Curiously, my
    > strong Evangelical roots (actually S. Baptist in my grandparents'
    > generation) did not bias me against an interest in evolutionary biology. I
    > majored in botany at the U of WI-Madison (some Calvin C. folk may remember
    > Ken Systma, who was one of my professors). I attended U of Texas- Arlington
    > from 1989-1991, where I earned my M.S. in biology while my wife earned hers
    > in Linguistics. I started at Wash. U. in St. Louis in 1991. Before
    > completing my dissertation, I served as a sabbatical replacement for Fred
    > Van Dyke at Northwestern College for 1998-1999. This last year, I have
    > been in Rockford IL for the sake of a steady job and to be near extended
    > family while I finished writing. (I have 3 small children, and as some of
    > you may know this presents unusual challenges to the Christian father and
    > graduate student).
    >
    > Until now, I have kept a very low profile in discussions of science/faith
    > and creation/evolution. In fact, over the years, I haven't really paid
    > very close attention to the debates and discussions. Indeed, to keep up
    > with the latest H. Ross, P. Johnson, Behe, or ID publicity campaign or book
    > and all the threads of discussion that follows is an entire field of study
    > in itself. (But, yes, I have read _Darwin on Trial_ and _Darwin's Black
    > Box_). Most of what these discussions wrestle with as of great importance
    > has little bearing on what practicing evolutionary biologist do, and I have
    > not found it of much use in helping me to be a witness for Christ among my
    > colleagues. Nevertheless, I do take issues of science/faith seriously, and
    > I seek to help Christians formulate a worldview that is consistent with
    > both of God's revelations. I joined the ASA four years ago, after I read H.
    > Van Till's _Science Held Hostage_, which I had found in my church's
    > library. (Later, upon my request, Dr. Van Till graciously sent me a copy
    > the out-of-print book and encouraged me to consider joining ASA). PSCF
    > published my letter to the editor in this year's March issue. I just joined
    > this listserv recently.
    >
    > Perhaps I'll make contributions to this forum in the near future. Boy, it
    > feels good to have that dissertation behind me!
    >
    > Sincerely,
    > Doug Hayworth
    >
    > //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
    > Douglas Hayworth, Ph.D.
    > (Evolutionary and Population Biology)
    > Department of Biomedical Sciences
    > UIC College of Medicine at Rockford
    > 1601 Parkview Avenue, Rockford, IL 61107-1897
    > Phone: 815-395-5894 Fax: 815-395-5666
    > /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
    >



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